Home or Heart?
by Arcane Ranger Knight
Summary: He's the mysterious vigilante who uses dragon magic to save people. She's the rigid Viking warrior used as bait to discover his true identy & turn him in. It's just business & she's simply doing her job, no strings attached. But becoming his apprentice is harder then it seems especially when the Fates begin to toy with their feelings! Who will win: Home or Heart? AU Mature


**CHAPTER 1:** Disagreeing Damsel

It was a dark and stormy night. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the ever-prevailing gloom was only broken by the occasional flash of lightning. Thick rain drops pelted the earth and an icy wind whipped through her hair.

This was by far the most unusual mission Astrid Hofferson had ever been on!

By nature, she was a warrior – a Shield Maiden.

Due to her parents dying in a dragon raid when she was young she became what most Viking girls yearned to from a young age: A Shield Maiden. She was used to fighting dragons and sometimes other Vikings that got in her way or raided Berk, taking advantage of the current dragon-caused chaos.

Needless to say, the blond-haired Viking maiden was used to more straight-forward approaches: Hack and slash was the name of the game. She used her trusty axe and her trademark battle garb. Dresses and tunics were for the airy and foolish city girls in the mainland. Here on the Archipelago, or at least Berk, life was harder and more demanding than that.

Nevertheless, Astrid found herself in a most peculiar situation. Due to her skill in warfare and strategy it made her the only option that made sense. She did not know whether to be insulted or take it as a compliment that they also took her looks into consideration.

She was being used as a sort of target, plain and simple.

The plan was pretty simple and straight forward in itself. It was a case of cloak and dagger so the actual enacting of the plan was the tricky part. She was supposed to be the "damsel in distress" and get rescued.

She had to let her defenses down on purpose and get saved by the mysterious vigilante that everyone was talking about. Personally Astrid didn't pay too much attention preferring to spend her time honing her skills with the axe and spear rather than gossip.

But due to last night's meeting she discovered that there was a vigilante roaming the countryside. He was dressed from head to toe in a white robe and hood like someone from Valhalla. He wore a white mask so that no one could see his face except for his piercing green eyes.

He was of average height and slender build so either he wasn't very strong or he was in his adolescence still and hadn't fully reached adulthood yet. That would explain his idealistic ways though it did not explain his foolish actions.

You see, according to the latest rumors that had been spreading like wild fire – this vigilante was riding upon a dragon. That's right! Instead of using a horse like normal warriors, he flew upon the back of a dragon. As the legend had it, this was no ordinary dragon too but a Night Fury!

The dragon he flew on was allegedly black as night and according to the Book of Dragons, that Fishlegs would always rant about; there was only one dragon – the Night Fury – that fit that description.

Allegedly this dragon rider was traveling from island to island and helping people. He did not ask for money or merchandise. He did it for free. He somehow used blue magic within the dragon to heal people and save lives. He cured the sick and even brought an old grandmother back from the brink of death. He healed wounds that would have otherwise led to amputation, allegedly a soft spot of his, and prevented all kinds of bad things from happening.

He would show up faster than the speed of like some kind of angel or, she rolled her eyes, _hero_. But that couldn't possibly be true! No one rode a dragon. No one preformed miracles much less magic and didn't ask for money. No. He was probably some idiot on the run from the law corrupting the innocent and gullible into providing him with refuge and sanctuary.

Astrid wondered what crime he had truly committed to being on the run and attracting the attention of Berk and Stoick the Vast who was currently the resistance leader against the dragons. A few clans had united with him rallying to his cause. Most everyone hated dragons and they wanted to put a stop to this vigilante.

They didn't want anyone getting foolish harebrained ideas about "taming" dragons. That was utter nonsense. Someone had likely been drunk off their face when they encountered him. No one in their right mind would do that!

But low and behold here she was in the pouring rain on a night that she'd prefer to spend drinking ale in the warm and friendly Great Hall with her friends. They were all probably laughing at her now and joking at her behest telling stories of the "good old days" with Astrid Hofferson.

Suddenly, a twig snapped. Astrid froze, trying to refrain from feeling for the daggers she had strapped to her legs inside her trousers. She had to go unarmed but couldn't resist bringing them just in case things went wrong and the operation failed. If the dragon rider didn't show she was really screwed!

Currently the war maiden was on an uninhabited island near island that was allegedly the vigilante's campsite. Apparently Stoick had spies everywhere infiltrating islands and clans that had encountered this masked outlaw.

The blond-haired woman froze as she felt a sinister presence near her. A dark shadow blocked the moonlight and an alarming shape sauntered out of the billowing trees. A blood-red scaly Monstrous Nightmare brought itself up to its full height. It raised its head and spread its wings unleashing a frightening roar.

Astrid was not easily scared but she could not purposefully attack this dragon. She had "sprained her ankle" while out on an "evening stroll" when this dragon caught her unawares. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest as she mentally swore every oath she knew. She even prayed to Odin and Thor and all the gods of Valhalla to save her.

They didn't seem to be listening because the dragon unleashed a jet of flames. The white hot fire lit up the forest clearing and Astrid yelped in fear as she ducked behind a tree. The dragon missed her by inches and readied its maw for another burst of flames.

How many shots did a Monstrous Nightmare have? Five? Six? Astrid wished she had listened to Fishlegs now. She could almost see the large red-head mutter, "I told you so!" Snotlout and the twins were really laughing at her situation now if they were here. Gobber would most certainly come to her rescue charging wildly on his wooden leg waving his club without fear.

But she was bait and had to be the damsel in distress. Taking in a deep breath she forced herself to step into the clearing and in line of site of the dragon who paused in confusion at her idiotic behavior. Perhaps dragons weren't as stupid as she thought!

 _Odin make it quick!_ Astrid prayed, itching to yank out her daggers.

Just when she thought she was about to die, Astrid was startled to see a pile of eels fall from the tree in a net and land between her and the about-to-fire dragon. The dragon froze and looked at the eels in what seemed like utter horror and disgust. Much to Astrid's shock and confusion, the red dragon turned around and fled away to the darkness of the woods without so much as a noise.

"Well, well, well," A masculine voice said softly from behind her. "What do we have here?"

The shield maid spun around quickly just in time to vaguely glimpse white and black shapes seconds before she felt the needle of a poisoned dart thump into her neck.

 _Crap!_ Astrid thought. _I should have expected that._

Then her vision blurred and she felt herself collapse to the ground…

…And everything went black!

TO BE CONTINUED

 **A/N:** And there you have it! Chapter 1 of the vigilante conspiracy. Just who is this hero in white? Will Astrid succeed in her quest? Or will fate mix things up a tad? All will be revealed in chapter two coming up shortly on a fanfiction website near you!


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